Glass and Amber is a 1987 collection of short stories and essays by science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 author C. J. Cherryh

C. J. Cherryh

Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...

. The book was published by NESFA Press

NESFA Press

NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books:...

 to commemorate Cherryh’s appearance as the Guest of Honor at Boskone

Boskone

This article is about the fictional organization in E.E. Smith's Lensman series. For the yearly BOSKONE science fiction convention, see Boskone ....

 24, a science fiction convention

Science fiction convention

Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...

. Only 1,000 copies were printed, and each is individually numbered on the copyright page. The first 250 numbered copies were autographed by Cherryh and sold in slipcases. Some of these were also signed by Barclay Shaw

Barclay Shaw

Barclay Shaw is an American professional artist best known for his fantasy and science fiction artwork. He has been nominated five times for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, and has earned a top ten ranking six times in the annual Locus Poll Award for Best Artist...

, the cover artist.

Contents

The following stories and essays are included:

• "Of Law and Magic" is story about a wizardous lawyer, a desperate witch, and the laws of magic which entangle them. This story provides an unusual perspective on magic.
• "Homecoming" tells of an unmanned deep space probe, its discovery of alien life, and its journey home. It provides unique insight into the mechanical mind.
• "Romantic / Science Fiction" is an essay which traces the roots of science fiction to the old tradition of romantic literature.
• "The Dark King" is a compassionate retelling of the Sisyphus
  Sisyphus
  In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity...
  
   and Hades
  Hades
  Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
  
   story.
• "Perspectives in SF" is a humorous essay on the place of science fiction in our society. In it Cherryh describes her early indoctrination into science fiction and discusses directions for science fiction in the future.
• "Sea Change" is a dark tale of the sea: one girl, two boys, and the nature of luck.
• "The Avoidance Factor" discusses the possibility of extraterrestrial life, and why we haven't found it.
• "A Gift of Prophecy" is a somewhat disturbing story of an oracular priestess set in the future.
• "The Use of Archaeology in Worldbuilding" illuminates Cherryh's science fiction, and will interest serious fans.
• "Willow" is a story of a disillusioned knight in an encounter with a maiden, a mother, and a crone
  Crone
  The crone is a stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman who is usually disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing. She is marginalized by her exclusion from the reproductive cycle,...
  
  .
• "In Alien Tongues" is an essay outlining the construction of alien languages central to the realism of Cherryh's worlds.
• "Pots" is the final and most enigmatic story in the collection, telling of the discovery of an abandoned planet (Earth?) by archaeologists seeking their own roots.

All of the works in the book had been previously published except "The Avoidance Factor" and "Pots", which are original to this volume. This is the first English-language printing of "A Gift of Prophecy", which had previously been published only in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

.

All of the stories in this collection were later reprinted in The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh

The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh

The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories, novelettes and novella written by the United States author C. J. Cherryh between 1977 and 2004. It was first published by DAW Books in 2004...

(2004).